I Am Sincere

Host

Welcome to Summer to the Max! Learning how to follow Jesus with all your heart will help you so much. In fact, it will help you live to the max!

Co-Host

That’s because following Jesus brings lots of good help from God. What is a good thing to say after someone helps you? (Pause) Thank you! We can say that to God, too.

Host

Let’s learn the Big Point to find out how followers of Jesus act. Put your hand to your ear,

Host

I Am Sincere!

Co-Host

Sincere might be a brand new word for you. Has anyone heard that word before? Sincere is being honest about how you feel and what you say.

Host

I have an idea. Let’s play a game. I’m will make a face, and let’s see if you can guess how I feel.

Co-Host

Boys and girls, what do you think? What is he/she doing? Stomping. Does his/her face have a frown or smile? How do you think he/she feels? (Pause) I agree. You are grumpy!

Host

No, I’m feeling really happy. See if you can guess how I feel now.

Co-Host

Boys and girls, tell me what you see our friend doing. (Pause) How do you think our friend feels on the inside? (Pause) Right, I think he/she is happy.

Host

Nope, I feel so sad on the inside.

Co-Host

This is so confusing. How you act and talk does not match how you say you feel on the inside. Boys and girls, isn’t it confusing when someone acts like this?

Host

You’re right. It is confusing. When I acted grumpy, but said I was happy I wasn’t being sincere. That’s because what I said and did didn’t match what was on the inside. If we say that Jesus is our friend and leader, then should we act like someone who obeys Jesus?

Co-Host

You’re right. We should do that. If we say that we love Jesus, then shouldn’t we treat other people like Jesus would treat them? Yes. That is being sincere.

Host

A follower of Jesus makes sure that the words they say match their feelings and actions. Let’s stand and say our Big Point again,

Host

I Am Sincere!

Co-Host

Let’s practice our Big Point again,

Co-Host

I Am Sincere!

Host

Let’s see what Jesus said in the Bible about our Big Point by reading our Big Verse.

Host

Matthew 5:8 (NIrV), “Blessed are those whose hearts are pure. They will see God.”

Co-Host

When Jesus talked about our hearts, He meant the invisible part of us that connects with God. Honest and sincere hearts allow us to receive lots of good things from God. Let’s understand more about what that means by looking at colors. We have a friend who will help us by being an artist.

Host

Let’s paint three different colors on the paper. (Have the child paint red, yellow, and blue) These are called primary colors. They are pure colors. You can’t make them from any other colors.

Co-Host

You can use primary colors to make other colors. What color would you get from mixing blue and yellow? (Mix them) Green! What about red and blue? (Purple) Red and Yellow? (Orange)

Host

Green, purple and orange are colors that are made up from mixing two colors together. They aren’t pure like red, yellow and blue.

Co-Host

No matter how hard you try. (Mix together different colors) You can’t mix up red or yellow.

Host

Our hearts should be like the red, yellow, and blue. Our hearts should never be mixed up about who we follow. Jesus is the only One who has earned the place of leader in our lives. Hold up one finger. It’s not right to make anyone more important than Jesus. Let’s stand and say our Big Point again,

Host

I Am Sincere!

Host

Zacchaeus made a wise choice when he said he was sorry and chose Jesus as his leader. He was sincere because he believed in Jesus and changed the way he talked and how he acted. Let’s pray and ask Jesus to help us be pure and sincere followers. (Pray)

Host

Let’s all practice our Big Point again,

Host

I Am Sincere!

Co-Host

Zacchaeus made unwise choices, but he changed and followed Jesus with all his heart. Some of Zacchaeus’ neighbors said they followed God, but they didn’t change how they acted or what they thought. That meant that they weren’t sincere like Zacchaeus.

Host

You can tell your family about the Big Story and how Zacchaeus climbed up the tree to see Jesus when you do the Big Do this week.

Host

We’re going to do an experiment with our parents. You need a grown up to help you with this, so ask them to scan your Ark Kids at Home card with their phone, so you can find out how to do it.

Co-Host

It’s going to be a lot of fun, so don’t forget to tell them!

Host

We have a lot of fun planned today. It’s time for our Super Science Bubble Show!

• Did our Big Point say I Am Insincere, or I Am Sincere?

• Let’s pretend to climb a tall tree. (Pretend to climb up the branches) What was the name of the man who climbed up the tree in our story? Zacchaeus Who did he want to see? Jesus Why did he have to climb the tree? He was small

• Let’s pretend to give money to a friend. Now pretend to snatch money from a different friend. Had Zacchaeus taken money that didn’t belong to him? Yes Did Zacchaeus promise to stop doing that? Yes Why did Zacchaeus want to change and make wise choices? He wanted to follow Jesus

• I’m going to say a feeling. Then you show me a face that matches the feeling. (Give a few suggestions, such as happy, sad, angry, friendly, etc.) Matthew 5:8 (NIrV), “Blessed are those whose hearts are (mean / pure). They will see God.”

• What is our Big Do? Do an experiment with the grown-ups you live with